Patrick Bamford's lofted through ball in the 19th minute had the United defence flustered. A poor defensive header from Stearman followed, which allowed Gestede to pounce with a header of his own, to lob the helpless Jamal Blackman in the visitors goal.

The last clear chance of the half fell again to Gestede after the lofty striker directed Cyrus Christie's cross towards goal, only to see it come off the keeper's right hand post and out for a goal kick.

The second half began in much the same way as the first, with both sides struggling to create any clear cut opportunities.

However, in the 61st minute the first chance of the half saw ​Sheffield United's Coutts strike a fierce 25-yard shot, that would've nestled in ​Middlesbrough left hand post if it wasn't for a fantastic stop by Darren Randolph.

Throughout the game a lot of heavy and often late tackles were flying in, making for a fairly physical encounter between the two ​Championship newcomers.

Through their physical display and high press, the Blades showed that they would cause problems for a lot of teams this season as Middlesbrough continued to find it difficult to break their resolute defence down in the second half.

The Blades scrambled to try and steal a point towards the end of the game and looked to have nicked an equaliser in extra time, only to see their goal controversially ruled out for offside, with replays showing that the wrong decision was made.

Despite not really creating a clear chance in the second half, aside from a tame Cyrus Christie strike, Boro controlled the game and comfortably held on to the lead to claim their first win of the season under new boss Gary Monk.

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